Rustic wooden tray/planter

I was a bit restless this past weekend and went wondering around my house waiting for inspiration to hit.  I have several potential projects stashed in the garage, so I took a stroll out there.  I found a footstool in desperate need of a remake.  It's been there for awhile and looked somewhat forlorn so I chose it.  Here's a before picture of the footstool as I'm ripping off the bottom cover and eventually all the sides, top and guts.

Pretty good bones.  Except for the nail holes and glue everywhere. 

The feet are in great shape with only a few knicks here and there.  

Here are the layers and layers that came off, along with about a gazillion upholstery nails.  If I had the right tools it would've been quick(er) work.  I was happy to have the demolition mostly over without any blisters.  We'll see how long that lasts.   

I removed the legs and will use them on a different remake.  The wooden frame is so rustic that the two finishes didn't work together.  No biggy.  I was hoping the sanding would remove more of the dried on glue, but there was alot of it left.  It was at least smooth to the touch which is good enough.   I actually flipped the stool over, so the bottom is now the top.  That gave me a flat bottom to nail on the 1/4 inch plywood.  

I glued pieces of twine on the top of each board on the rounded sections to cover up the old glue add some interest and I drilled holes in the sides to wrap smaller twine to reinforce the big twine on top. 

Isn't this a cute look?  I like it alot, I gotta say. 

This is a view from the side.  

This is just a picture of the twine I used and wood glue.  I don't know if that's the right kind of glue to use for this project, but it's what was on hand.  Isn't that how it goes sometimes? 

I can hear the wise words of Tim Gunn right about now.  "Make it work." 

I drilled two more holes on the sides for twine handles for easy moving. 

 Looks even cuter now, me thinks!

This is the inside where I tied the knots for the handles. 

I put it outside on the deck for now.  I will probably find the perfect spot for it in a few days.  It's really rustic looking.  Maybe I'll fill it with impatiens or pansys planted in terra cotta pots.  It would be fabulous as a tray on stacked pallets, too.  I might end up painting it. 

Who knows?  Whatever it ends up being is okay with me. 

 I hope there will be more days like this one, remaking a piece of junky old furniture into something that's unique and functional again. 

In my book, nothing much beats that!